Search results for: Julio Ferrer

In Matanzas, Not Enough Buses and Too Many Billboards For the First of May Celebrations

INTERNATIONAL WORKERS DAY 14ymedio, Julio César Contreras, Matanzas, 1 May 2025 – The colours on the billboard leap out at you in the middle of the terrace around the Ayllón Viaduct bus stop. The grassed area has already been worn away by the constant flow of people and by the drought. It the middle of … Continue reading “In Matanzas, Not Enough Buses and Too Many Billboards For the First of May Celebrations”

At the Pediatric Hospital in Matanzas, Cuba, Families Must Bring Everything From Syringes to Medications

The lack of cleaning staff is another problem that is severely affecting the health center. 14ymedio, Julio César Contreras, Matanzas, 28 April 2025 — The medical care received at the Matanzas Children’s Hospital is directly proportional to the amount of resources the family brings. A heavy bag of supplies, gifts, and snacks, the patient is … Continue reading “At the Pediatric Hospital in Matanzas, Cuba, Families Must Bring Everything From Syringes to Medications”

Mario Vargas Llosa, an Essential and Vital Writer

The Peruvian writer contributed like few others to the universal expansion of Latin America. 14ymedio, Federico Hernández Aguilar, San Salvador, 20 April 2025 — With Mario Vargas Llosa’s passing (1936-2025) the last great exponent of the so-called Latin American boom died, an extraordinary creative and editorial phenomenon that, strictly speaking, should be called the boom … Continue reading “Mario Vargas Llosa, an Essential and Vital Writer”

French President Macron on Varga Llosa: ‘His Work Stood for Freedom Over Fanatacism’

The writer’s wake is being held at the family home, where Peruvian President Dina Boluarte traveled. EFE (via 14ymedi0), Paris/Lima/Montevideo/Santiago de Chile/ 14 April 2025 — French President Emmanuel Macron paid tribute this Monday to Mario Vargas Llosa, who died in Lima this Sunday, and highlighted both the Nobel Prize winner’s membership in the French … Continue reading “French President Macron on Varga Llosa: ‘His Work Stood for Freedom Over Fanatacism’”

Matanzas Residents With Family Abroad Dream of a Dollar Store

14ymedio, Julio César Contreras, Matanzas, 7 April 2025 — The debate has changed focus. Just a year and a half ago, the discussion was why the government had raised an “eyesore in MLC” [Freely Convertible Currency] – as a well-known journalist of the official press called it- out of harmony with the historical environment and … Continue reading “Matanzas Residents With Family Abroad Dream of a Dollar Store”

State-Owned Rice for the Poor in La Princesa, Private Rice for the Rich in La Calzada

In Cienfuegos, you either have to wait in long lines to get a pound for 150 pesos or you need a deep pocket to buy it for 290. 14ymedio, Julio César Contreras, Cienfuegos, 1 April 2025 — Anyone from Cienfuegos who wants to eat rice—and what Cuban can do without it—has a decision to make. … Continue reading “State-Owned Rice for the Poor in La Princesa, Private Rice for the Rich in La Calzada”

Despite the Huge Income That Tobacco Brings In, the Cuban State Barely Pays the Producers

The cultivation is maintained because it is a tradition, because as a business “it does not work,” say the guajiros 14ymedio, Havana, 28 March 2025 — The tobacco industry in Cuba has not been balanced for a long time. While Habanos S.A. declared a record income at the beginning of the year, the Cuban growers … Continue reading “Despite the Huge Income That Tobacco Brings In, the Cuban State Barely Pays the Producers”

Cuba: On Cienfuegos’s Malecon the Graffiti Demonstrates Defiance as well as Nostalgia

The graffiti, attributed to a group of tourists, have shocked some and generated excitement in others. 14ymedio, Julio César Contreras, Cienfuegos, 27 March 2025 – A malecón isn’t just a sea wall. It needs people coming and going, and some pleasurable activity or other going on. In Cienfuegos, the longest wall in the city has … Continue reading “Cuba: On Cienfuegos’s Malecon the Graffiti Demonstrates Defiance as well as Nostalgia”

They Promised To Sell Them in Pesos, but the Chinese-Cuban Company Charges Dollars for Its Electric Tricycles / 14yMedio

Caribbean Electric Vehicles opens an assembly plant in Holguín 14ymedio, Miguel García, Holguín, 24 March 2025 — The Héroes del 26 de Julio Mechanical Company, a state firm of Holguín dedicated to the manufacture of agricultural equipment and implements, has a new line of business”: the assembly of electric tricycles. It is a project that … Continue reading “They Promised To Sell Them in Pesos, but the Chinese-Cuban Company Charges Dollars for Its Electric Tricycles / 14yMedio”

Under the Gaze of ‘Che’ Guevara the Dollar Comes to Stores in Cienfuegos, Cuba

The store, located on 37th Avenue, reopened with the new payment method last week. 14ymedio, Julio César Contreras, Cienfuegos, 18 March 2025 — Unafraid of ideological contradictions, the stern visage of Che Guevara, “a knight without blemish or fear”—a verse from a poem dedicated to the guerrilla—crowns the building that houses the first dollar store … Continue reading “Under the Gaze of ‘Che’ Guevara the Dollar Comes to Stores in Cienfuegos, Cuba”

What Isn’t Broadcast on Cuba’s Radio Ciudad Del Mar

The sound engineer, apparently removed from all official propaganda, also receives requests not to broadcast certain “controversial opinions.” 14ymedio, Julio César Contreras, Cienfuegos, March 17, 2025 — A few weeks ago Adriano resigned from Radio Ciudad del Mar, the local station in Cienfuegos where he had worked as a sound engineer since his college graduation. … Continue reading “What Isn’t Broadcast on Cuba’s Radio Ciudad Del Mar”

Sugar Donated by Brazil Is Distributed in the Bodegas, While the Harvest Is Predicted To Be Disastrous in Cuba

Most centers have begun to provide some data indicating that the harvest will be bad again. 14ymedio, Havana/Madrid, 12 February 2025 — Lucía is amazed every time, like this Tuesday, when she arrives at the bodega (ration store) to pick up the module that the government donates from time to time. “I find it quite … Continue reading “Sugar Donated by Brazil Is Distributed in the Bodegas, While the Harvest Is Predicted To Be Disastrous in Cuba”

Only the Impoverished Teachers Dare To Eat the Children’s Lunch at the Guerrillero Heroica School

In Cienfuegos, Cuba, parents are concerned about the poor quality of food in schools 14ymedio, Julio César Contreras, Cienfuegos, 9 March 2025 — A discolored broth and a lumpy minced meat are all that is on the metal tray that the students carry to the table. In the cafeteria of the Guerrillero Heroico primary school, … Continue reading “Only the Impoverished Teachers Dare To Eat the Children’s Lunch at the Guerrillero Heroica School”

Due to the Risk of Collapse, the Cienfuegos Train Station Closes After Investing 5.3 Million Pesos

14ymedio, Julio César Contreras, Cienfuegos, 6 March 2025 — “No entry, danger of collapse,” warned the sign that on February 28 closed the Cienfuegos train terminal indefinitely. For the passengers who arrived at the station and found the doors and windows closed, the notice glued to the wall was an unfortunate surprise. However, Marta, who … Continue reading “Due to the Risk of Collapse, the Cienfuegos Train Station Closes After Investing 5.3 Million Pesos”

Ulises and Arminda, Retirees and Professional ‘Coleros’ at the ATMs in Cienfuegos, Cuba

The elderly save others long waits under the sun or rain and charge them 1,000 pesos for their service 14ymedio, Julio César Contreras, Cienfuegos, 2 March 2025 –14ymedio, Julio César Contreras, Cienfuegos, 2 March 2025 — They are just shadows in the middle of the dim light in front of the branch of the Banco … Continue reading “Ulises and Arminda, Retirees and Professional ‘Coleros’ at the ATMs in Cienfuegos, Cuba”